Blue murder

After the humiliation at Old Trafford, Rangers stars must prove their character to salvage a season of disappointment, says Douglas Alexander

It is called the Theatre of Dreams, but Rangers woke up in a cold sweat from their nightmare at Old Trafford last week. The anaesthetic provided by Alex McLeish’s astute management of the club, which had taken it to a domestic Treble, then the Champions League, then a creditable and feisty showing against Manchester United in the first instalment of the Battle of Britain, finally wore off.

The hangover that has now hit has been long overdue. While Leeds have slithered to the foot of the Premiership and Sunderland were relegated while trying to control similarly mushrooming debt, McLeish has managed to make it seem business as usual at Ibrox, conjuring trophies despite all the cutbacks, despite the excellent adversary he faced in Martin O’Neill at Celtic, and despite the loss two months ago of Barry Ferguson, his captain and best player, for little more than half of the £12m